


P is for Pennsylvania

by Rose_of_Pollux



Series: Around the World in 26 Days [16]
Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 11:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11274555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: In which Napoleon and Illya ponder the bizarre mystery that is Western PA weather.





	P is for Pennsylvania

Napoleon winced as he and Illya traveled further into the side of a vast hillside. The network of tunnels seemed to go in deeper, and though they had gotten out of the cold outside, it was still quite frigid inside.

“Remind me again,” Napoleon said. “Why do we have a message drop in the middle of an abandoned Pennsylvanian mine?”

“Presumably because THRUSH would never wander in here.”

“And for good reason,” Napoleon muttered. “You know how easy it is to get lost down here?”

“Fortunately for us, I have taken precautions to try to prevent that,” Illya said.

“What did you do? Bring bread crumbs?”

“No—a ball of yarn.”

Napoleon paused.

“…I know people like to say that you’re like a cat. But, really--”

“It’s to use the thread to mark our path, Blockhead! Like Theseus did in the myth about the Labyrinth!”

“Oh… Well, in that case, that’s actually a really good idea,” Napoleon said, after thinking about it. “Carry on.”

“I am so glad you approve,” Illya said.

Napoleon rolled his eyes.

“Look, it’s not my fault. I think my brain is shutting down from the cold. I just don’t function in this weather.”

“And I do not function in the weather we had here yesterday,” Illya said, shaking his head. “Tell me, Napoleon, how can a place like this go from blistering hot the previous day to below freezing the next?”

Napoleon thought for a moment and shrugged.

“A blessing? A curse? Take your pick?”

“Bizarre meteorological activity,” Illya decided. He paused, looking ahead at a panel in the wall of the mine, where some old equipment had been placed. “Napoleon, look! I believe that is the message drop!”

“An old miner’s lantern?” Napoleon mused, opening it and pulling out the coded papers. “That’s clever. Anyone else would just ignore this.” He pocketed the papers. “Okay, let’s get out of here and get back to the car.”

“Where did you park it?” Illya asked, as they followed the string of yarn back to the mouth of the old mine tunnel.

“Oh, it’s right near that 200-year-old inn we saw…” Napoleon began, but he trailed off as they got to the end of the tunnel and saw that sheets of freezing rain were coming down relentlessly outside.

“The sky was when we entered the mine!” Illya protested, looking utterly baffled at the inclement precipitation.

“…Then we’ll have to wait and hope that it gets clear soon again, because I am not setting a foot in _that_ ,” Napoleon insisted. He sat down at the mouth of the tunnel, propping his chin up on his hand.

Illya shrugged and sat down beside him. They would need to kill some time, but, thankfully, they never seemed to run out of conversation topics.

It was just another benefit of their flawless partnership.


End file.
